Newly appointed Chairman, Police Service Commission (PSC), IGP Solomon Arase (retd.), has pledged to maintain a cordial working relationship with the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), in order to have an improved and professional Police Force.
Arase, who was the 18th Indigenous Inspector-General of Police, was inaugurated as the 5th chairman of the PSC, Wednesday, by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Addressing journalists, shortly after assuming duty at the Commission’s headquarters in Abuja, the former police boss promised to address the issue of corruption and the recurring issues or conflicts of roles between the IGP and the PSC.
He also promised to make the welfare of officers and men of the Force and the staff of the PSC a top priority, nothing that:
“Every policeman was a civilian and will return to civilian life after retirement as I have since I retired some seven years ago.
“The benefits that are derivable from good conduct as a police officer, they will continue to reap it when they retire. So that is what I will emphasise.”
On ways to improve the relationship between the commission and the police, he said: “If you look at the calibre of people you have in the commission, then you also look at the professional skills of the police management team, there is no way that there won’t be occasional issues.
“What I think we should do is that each of the parties should not learn to take everything. There must be negotiation, empathy, and respect for each of our roles.
“I will expect that the commission allows the IGP to exercise his operational control over the police. And that the IGP himself will respect the constitutional powers of the Police Service Commission. So, there must be mutual respect between both parties. I don’t foresee any crisis at all.”
